Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare has agreed to pay the federal government $1 million to resolve allegations that lax controls allowed a former medical assistant to divert controlled substances for personal use, according to the Department of Justice.
The government alleged a former medical assistant at one of Intermountain's clinics used a physician's Drug Enforcement Administration registration number to issue prescriptions for various controlled substances to herself and two family members. She allegedly issued 244 prescriptions of oxycodone and another 151 prescriptions for other controlled substances, including diazepam, phentermine and hydrocodone, without a legitimate medical purpose.
The former medical assistant picked up all of the prescriptions she illegally issued after they were filled by a pharmacy, according to the DOJ.
In addition to the monetary settlement, Intermountain has implemented a corrective action plan to prevent, identify and address future drug diversions.
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